1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to light fixture and device control and more specifically to virtual room-based light fixture and device control techniques.
2. Background Information
As homes and other structures become larger, and filled with more electrical and electronic devices, the burden of controlling these electrical and electronic devices has also increased. One particular area in which this issue has manifest is in the area of lighting control.
Traditionally light fixtures in a home or other structure have been largely controlled by wall mounted mechanical light switches, including mechanical toggle switches, rocker switches, push button switches, and the like. Such mechanical switches have taken the form of 2-way switches, where a light fixture is controlled from a single switch location, 3-way switches, where a light fixture is controlled from two switch locations, 4-way switches where a light fixture is controlled from three switch locations, etc. In some cases, mechanical switches have been augmented by mechanical dimmers, which allow a light fixture to be dimmed or brightened, for example, by turning a knob that adjusts a variable resister in series with the light fixture.
While mechanical switches and dimmers have proved reliable and cost-effective, they have increasingly shown their limitations in large homes and other structures. A single room in a large home or other structure may include a large number of individual light fixtures. For example, a large room may include several free-standing light fixtures, such as lamps, that provide task lighting; several fixed light fixtures, such as recessed cans and/or wall sconces, that provide general lighting; as well as several special-purpose light fixtures, such as accent spots, that provide illumination on artwork, architectural features or other elements of the room. To control all the light fixtures in a large room using traditional mechanical light switches and dimmers, a variety of “ganged” switch panels have traditionally been employed. FIG. 1 is a depiction of a conventional 6-gang mechanical switch panel 100, housing six individual mechanical switches 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, each of which may control one or more light fixtures. A large room with many light fixtures may require several of these panels, located at several locations in the room, for example, near different entrances, to provide adequate means for control of all the light fixtures in the room.
As should be apparent, while this type of control scheme is functional in a large room, it is typically not user friendly. A user must memorize which of the many mechanical switches controls which individual light fixture or fixtures. A new guest in the room, who has not memorize this relationship, typically must attempt by trial and error to determine which mechanical switch controls which fixture or fixtures, flipping each switch until they happen upon the result they desire. This may quickly lead to frustration.
More recently, a variety of types of electronic lighting control systems have been developed which attempt to improved upon the traditional lighting control experience. Such electronic lighting control systems typically include one or more programmable electronic lighting controllers, which are interconnected via control wiring to relays and/or dimmer units wired inline with each individual light fixture. The electronic lighting controllers may also be connected to a number of wall mounted, table-top, or portable control panels, either by wired, or wireless, links. Some electronic lighting control systems support a variety of lighting “scenes”, such that a number of lights may be activated, deactivated, and/or dimmed together, in response to a single control section, for example, a single button press. For instance, a particular lighting scene in a room may activate certain task lighting and fixed lighting at high-brightness, appropriate for reading, while another lighting scene in the room may activate only certain accent lighting, at a very low level, creating a setting suitable for movie viewing.
However, many conventional electronic lighting control systems still employ button-centric user interfaces reminiscent of the mechanical switches and dimmers they replace. FIG. 2 depicts a conventional wall-mounted control panel 200 for a conventional electronic lighting control system. The panel 200 includes a plurality of physical push buttons labeled with text labels. Lighting scene selection buttons 205, 210, 215, 220 enable selection of various lighting scenes, while dimmer controls 230 are provided to adjust brightness. Further, the control panel 200 includes buttons 240 for selecting light fixtures in other rooms of the home or structure, as well as “All On” and “All Off” buttons 250, 255 for global control.
While conventional electronic lighting control systems that employ conventional button-centric control panels 200 may offer some improvement over traditional ganged mechanical switches and dimmers, the lighting control experience may still be quite user-unfriendly. While the overall number of controls may be reduced, one still must determine which push-button operates which light fixture, or group of light fixtures, in a large room. Typically, only a short cryptic name is provided on the face of each push-button as a guide. Further, should a user desire to deviate from the provided scenes, and activate, deactivate and/or dim particular light fixtures, the user may have to navigate a confusing array of override and manual controls. Thus, the overall user experience can still be rather frustrating.
In addition to conventional button-centric control panels that employ physical push-buttons, some conventional electronic lighting control systems work in conjunction with touch-screen control units that display menu-based user interfaces. Rather than manipulate physical push-buttons, a user may select, via touch, representations of buttons on a touch screen. FIG. 3 depicts a conventional touch-based user interface 310 for a conventional electronic lighting control system on touch-screen control unit 300. Similar to the button-centric control panel 200 discussed above, the user interface 310 displays a plurality of buttons 320, 330, 340, 350 for selecting various lighting scenes. Further, the user interface 310 includes dimmer controls 360 for adjusting brightness, as well as menuing controls 370 for accessing interfaces for other rooms in the home or structure. As is apparent, while the user is no longer actuating physical push-buttons, the overall user experience provided by a conventional touch-screen control unit 300 is often little change from that provided by a conventional button-centric control panel 200. Rather utilizing physical buttons, the user is simply utilizing digital buttons. The user still must memorize which buttons operate which light fixtures, or groups of light fixtures, and may still have to resort to trial and error to determine exactly what each button does. Thus, the overall user experience may be just as frustrating as with a conventional button-centric control panel 200.
Further, the above-discussed limitations of conventional control systems are not limited to the field of lighting control. A variety of other types of electrical and electronic devices are typically present in homes and other structures, and typically suffer from similar control shortcomings. For example, a large room in a home or other structure may include a number of motor operated devices, such as automatic window shades or ceiling fans, which a user may desire to operate and adjust selectively. Similarly, a large room in a home or other structure may include a number of audio/video (A/V) components that a user may desire to select and control, as well as other devices that a user may desire to operate in a controlled manner. Further, a room of a home or other structure may include various heating, ventilating, and air conditioning and/or energy management devices user may desire to manage. As with light fixtures, a user may be forced to memorize which mechanical switch, physical push-button, or digital button is associated with each device and/or each function of a device, and may become frustrated when simply turning on or off a device, or otherwise changing the state of a device, becomes a complicated endeavor.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved techniques for controlling light fixtures and other devices in a home or other structure.